Armand Joseph Bruat was a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

.

Biography

Bruat joined the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

 in 1811, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

. His early career included far-ranging sea duties: in 1815, he served in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and the West Indies. From 1817 to 1820 he was with French forces in the Levant

Levant

The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...

. Then, until 1824, he was stationed first in Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 and then the Pacific.

As a Lieutenant, Bruat took part in the 1827 Battle of Navarino

Battle of Navarino

The naval Battle of Navarino was fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence in Navarino Bay , on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. A combined Ottoman and Egyptian armada was destroyed by a combined British, French and Russian naval force...

 as maneuver officer on Breslaw. In 1830, he received command of the brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

 Silène and cruised off Algiers, taking a number of prizes. As Silène followed the Aventure, she was wrecked and the crew was captured, 110 men being massacred. While captive, Bruat managed to transmit observations on the state of the defences of Algier to admiral Duperré

Guy-Victor Duperré

Guy-Victor Duperré was a French admiral, Peer of France and thrice Naval Minister....

.

After the Invasion of Algiers

Invasion of Algiers in 1830

The Invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Ottoman Regency of Algiers...

, Bruat was promoted to Captain and awarded commanded the Iéna

French ship Iéna (1814)

The Iéna was a Commerce de Paris class 110-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She was laid down on 6 March 1805 as Victorieux ....

, off Portugal. He then served on Triton, before supervising naval constructions in Toulon from 1841.

In 1843, he was made the Governor of the Marquesas Islands

Marquesas Islands

The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...

. During this time, he was also France's agent at the court of Queen Pomare of Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

, where he was able to convince her to acknowledge a French protectorate

Protectorate

In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...

 over her realm.

In 1849, Bruat became Governor-General of the Antilles

Antilles

The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...

 and in 1852 was promoted to Vice Admiral. In 1854, during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

, he was named Commander of the French Fleet in the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

. He died at sea from cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

, near Toulon, on his flagship, the Montebello

French ship Montebello (1812)

Montebello was an Océan type 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was launched in 1812 and refitted in 1821.In 1851, she was refitted to receive a steam engine. During trials, performance under sail was poor, probably because of the propeller which increased the drag.She took part in...

, on 19 November 1855.

Sources and references

• Charles Mullié, Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850, 1852